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2018 RTL and NEW freedom trailer issues..

Ok guys here a good question. RTL.jpg. When towing the trailer, my wife gets fume from the exhaust. It only happens when towing the trailer. My friend who has the same bike and trailer has the same issue. So far no luck finding a remedy. Plz help ty..

I see that you have a mud flap on your rear fender. I get the same thing with a 2012 and a 622 trailer. For me it is somewhat related to having the two mud flaps. The one that’s installed on the trailer hitch together with the other one we put on the rear fender appear to dam up air flow. Pull the trailer and the exhaust seems to get pushed back or sucked back to the rider. We remove the fender mud flap, keep on the hitch mud flap, and things improve. So, try removing that inner mud flap you have and see how it goes...or the other way around. Yes, wind direction also plays a roll. Tips would be the ideal fix, I think, but I’ve never come across ones small enough for the holes in the muffler.

Our Spyder RT's create a lot of turbulence behind them, turbulence that in dry weather lifts up & coats the back of the rear trunk & panniers with dust and in wet weather lifts road spray from the tires & rain that's been diverted around the Spyder such that it covers the back of the Spyder and drenches the back of the pillion passenger, and for some, it also sucks up the exhaust fumes released into that area - make that 'for many' when you are towing a trailer, as you've already found, DMartin.

Changing the mudflaps &/or angling the muffler outlets down & away can help a little, and may well be a part of the 'complete solution' for some, but I found the best 'fix' for this 'suck the fumes & dust/rain/spray up' problem to be quite simple - I fitted a Spyder RT Rivco Adjustable Luggage Rack onto the trunk lid! The rack acts like a 'whale tail' spoiler & smooths out the trailing vortices & other turbulence that creates this unruly low pressure area behind the Spyder, so it no longer creates the circumstances that cover the back of the bike with dust & road grime in the dry, no longer drenches the back of the pillion in the wet, and no longer sucks up exhaust fumes even when towing. Even in its un-laden 'open lattice' condition without anything on it, the rack works fairly well as a spoiler, altho I found it worked even better when I had something on the rack, so that led to me fitting a piece of light ply simply to cover the flat deck of the empty rack. A couple of minutes with a sheet of 1/8th" thick plywood, a sharp knife/box cutter, and a lick or three of clear poly paint to seal it was pretty much all it took!

These days, the 'deck cover' lives on the empty rack held down by a few screws, except when I put something on the rack, when it comes off in seconds & slips vertically into the frunk, taking up very little room - and regardless of if we are towing or not, both my pillion & I no longer get gassed by exhaust fumes or covered with the dust or spray from behind that's sucked up in the un-regulated trailing vortices & low pressure area created behind the RT by the trunk & panniers!

The rack comes in chrome or black powder coat, and I believe that someone has made a different version out of flat plate (without the holes or adjustable features) that is intended purely as a 'whale tail spoiler', but haven't been able to find the link. Check out the Rivco Adjustable Luggage Rack here:

I ordered the Rivco Adjustable Luggage Rack for my spyder rtl from dennis kirk in chrome finish for $255.99 . Hope it does cure the dust an water up the back when we get riding again soon.

Please report back on the success/failure of it. (not that I am in any way saying that Peter Aawen's claim is false) I am the "friend" that Dmartin was talking about in the original post. I have tried the removing mud flaps, air wings and my oversized windshield. Nothing worked. I really do not want a luggage rack on the back of my bike. Tomorrow I will be measuring up and getting some pipe extensions for the muffler. And yes I will post my results. I will get the luggage rack as an absolute last resort, but it is a permanent change to the bike, weather it works or not, as you have to drill holes for it. So, please let us know how it works for you.

Hi just bought a freedom trailer then I read about the issues about the exhaust. Has anyone tried to lengthen the hitch pole on the trailer to give it more air or would that change the handling of the trailer ?

Hi just bought a freedom trailer then I read about the issues about the exhaust. Has anyone tried to lengthen the hitch pole on the trailer to give it more air or would that change the handling of the trailer ?

I have not thought about that. I believe the issue is that the exhaust from the bike is pointed towards the tire, and is not far enough to the rear of the bike. The exhaust get caught up in the back draft of the bike, and with the trailer on, it cannot escape before getting sucked up and over the rear of the bike (much like the water that drench's the passenger)
I have been experimenting with extending the 2 exhaust pipes after they leave the muffler. So far it seems to be working. We have done a couple small trips around town but I was not going to report on this till after we our trip to the Pac NW spyder rally in a couple weeks when we can really take it on the road.
Ray

Hi just bought a freedom trailer then I read about the issues about the exhaust. Has anyone tried to lengthen the hitch pole on the trailer to give it more air or would that change the handling of the trailer ?

There is a vendor that offers an extension but they can not be named on this site.

I have tried windshield in all positions, as well as a larger windshield (7 jurock) I've taken the mud flaps off, add a larger one, removed the air wings on the front side (this did help marginally) I created a shield to try to divert the exhaust to the outside of the bike (made the situation WAY worse). But, thank-you for suggestions, I am open to any that may help this situation. I like my wife, and want to keep her around for awhile longer.

Like fjray I also pull a Bushtec and have never noticed a fume problem. Neither has my wife and boy would she let me know.

But, I am a mite disappointed in the amount of dirt that the extra mudflap seems to send up the rear. I ride with seven other Spyder RT's in the neighborhood and all on the same ride I pick up way more dirt over a much bigger area. I assume it's some kind of vortex created by the double flaps. This is without pulling the trailer.

On a side note, the local Can Am dealer could not wire up a Bushtec harness, simply not a clue. I took it down to TN. for a proper wiring job. What a pain.

Here is a thought leave wife at home. You can smoke cigar's won't get bitched at. Meet us the KC SPYDER RYDERS at the meet and greet and drink Blackberry Moonshine and Mellow Yellow. We won't say a word and see you at the next big one!

cut it exactly in half. I took off the beauty piece at the back of the muffler and drilled and tapped through the new pieces of galv pipe into the small pipes that are are after the muffler. I did paint the galv pipe black to make it look "better". IMG_4816.jpgIMG_4817.jpg
I'm not saying these look perfect, but tomorrow I will start the process of replacing the small pipes out of the muffler with stainless steel ones. As is, I cannot put the "beauty rim" back on the back of the muffler, as it will not go over the 1/4" bolts I am using to hold the pipes on.

This solution may not be for everyone, and certainly it may not work if you do not have a stock exhaust. BUT, this works for me...... I'll post pics when the final pipes are welded on.